Best Bitter - 2nd try

[HebridesRob]

Making this today. Follow-on from this thread...
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=54492

Batch size: 22 Litres

Grain bill:
Maris Otter pale malt: 3.5 Kg
Torrified wheat: 500g
Colour 100 crystal malt (Warminster) 250g

Hops:
60min: Golding, 20g. Cascade 15g.
10min: Golding, 15g
Dry hop (added when wort is cool enough to pitch the yeast): Cascade 5g.
IBU= 26

SO4 yeast.

I have an updated water profile and a different calculator. Adding 4g Calcium Sulphate as it appears this is all I need.

Mashing at 66c
OG should be around 1.043

Liquor is at strike temperature. Comments on my hops are invited, you have roughly 90 mins (approx 12:30). :sulk:

 

[Spapro]

Right up my street that !

Are you going to pop the dry hop into the FV and leave in for 2-3 weeks ? May have misunderstood.

If you are dry hopping probably best to pop 15-20g in at the end of fermentation, 4 days before you bottle.

Nice recipe overall though, good luck with it.

 

[HebridesRob]

Right up my street that !

Are you going to pop the dry hop into the FV and leave in for 2-3 weeks ? May have misunderstood.

If you are dry hopping probably best to pop 15-20g in at the end of fermentation, 4 days before you bottle.

Nice recipe overall though, good luck with it.

You didn't misunderstand but I'll do as you suggest.

 

[clibit]

I like the hop combo but not enough hops for me! I prefer more bitterness and more flavour/aroma hops, but I know a lot of British ale recipes have hop quantities like yours. I don't go full on American hopping, I'm floating somewhere mid Atlantic I think.

 

[LarryF]

Although I'm doing kits Rob I'm leaning towards leaving them in the FV for three weeks just to see if it makes any difference from the the two weeks I've done all along. I've got a John Bull Best Bitter that had three weeks in the FV and I'm trying it tonight. With brewing every two weeks but only drinking on a Friday and Saturday I was stock piling beers so my plan is to do two back to back three week brews re-using the yeast (gotta save a £1 where you can) and then take a two week break, so it's two brews every eight weeks bringing my brewing down to once a month. If I do start to run out (God forbid, don't make me drink that gnats **** they sell in the shops) I can bang out a quick couple of brews in a month if I have to.

 

[HebridesRob]

Although I'm doing kits Rob I'm leaning towards leaving them in the FV for three weeks just to see if it makes any difference from the the two weeks I've done all along. I've got a John Bull Best Bitter that had three weeks in the FV and I'm trying it tonight. With brewing every two weeks but only drinking on a Friday and Saturday I was stock piling beers so my plan is to do two back to back three week brews re-using the yeast (gotta save a £1 where you can) and then take a two week break, so it's two brews every eight weeks bringing my brewing down to once a month. If I do start to run out (God forbid, don't make me drink that gnats **** they sell in the shops) I can bang out a quick couple of brews in a month if I have to.

With about four weeks from brew day to the time I drink it, I'm finding I can't make enough! I ordered another fermenter, which I should have soon. Hoping for some flexibility to make more often and make smaller amounts so I get more variety.

 

[HebridesRob]

I like the hop combo but not enough hops for me! I prefer more bitterness and more flavour/aroma hops, but I know a lot of British ale recipes have hop quantities like yours. I don't go full on American hopping, I'm floating somewhere mid Atlantic I think.

I wanted to make it easy to drink. I have an English style IPA in mind which will have a lot more hoppiness. Will also make an American style soon, just to see if I can!

 

[LarryF]

With about four weeks from brew day to the time I drink it, I'm finding I can't make enough! I ordered another fermenter, which I should have soon. Hoping for some flexibility to make more often and make smaller amounts so I get more variety.

That's what I've been doing since the start of the year, two weeks in the FV, ten days in the warm and two in the fridge for the first taste. The problem is producing 44 odd 500ml bottles every two weeks but only drinking about 8 or 10 over a weekend. I ended with beers everywhere and needing bottles hand over fist. So I've had to put the brakes on a bit. Two FV's doing 22L brews once a week that's going to be a lot of drinking, dirty work, but someone's got to do it ;-).

 

[HebridesRob]

Well, 24 hours later it's bubbling away nicely. Came out at 1.045 and 22 litres as planned so that's good.

What's not so good is some fool put 4g of Magnesium Sulphate instead of Calcium Sulphate. Too much to ask for everything to go right I suppose.